Job Summary

Every employee of IRI is responsible for carrying out the Mission of IRI and demonstrating the Core Values in their day to day operations. The Core Values, which are IRI’s foundational building blocks include:

Excellence- We believe in quality results delivered by investing in people. Freedom- We believe in exploration and experimentation to be agile and responsive. Respect- We believe in trust, empathy, and empowering people. Teamwork- We believe in diversity, inclusion, and the power of global collaboration. Transparency- We believe in open communication and clear decision-making. Accountability- We believe in personal responsibility as the foundation of success.

The Senior Research Associate is an advanced entry-level position at IRI’s Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR) and provides research support for current and developing public opinion research studies across all of IRI’s regions.

This is a hybrid role based in Washington, DC.

Position Requirements

Undergraduate degree in statistics, political science, international relations or related field. Graduate degree preferred.
2-4 years of experience in public opinion research or related field (international experience preferred.)
Intermediate or higher understanding of statistics (at least one course) required, and of research methodology (at least one course) required.
Experience with Microsoft Excel, Word and PowerPoint required. Experience creating and customizing Excel and PowerPoint graphs preferred.
Experience creating data visualizations or infographics for polling data preferred.
At least 400 hours experience working with SPSS or similar statistical software required.
Excellent writing, research and communication skills.
Attention to detail.
IRI will consider candidates with a range of experience levels for this role, and the final job description and job title will correspond with the selected candidate’s qualifications. The position requirements for the less advanced Research Associate (I-04) role differ from the above requirements in the following ways:

Undergraduate degree in statistics, political science, international relations or related field.
1-3 years of experience in public opinion research or related field (international experience preferred.)
Intermediate or higher understanding of statistics (at least one course) required, and of research methodology (at least once course) preferred.
At least 100 hours experience working with SPSS or similar statistical software required.
Please note that the Senior Research Associate role and Research Associate role are both hybrid and based in Washington, DC. The final job description and job title will correspond with the selected candidate’s qualifications (i.e., Senior Research Associate or Research Associate).

Primary Functions & Responsibilities

This role supports the Center for Insights in Survey Research (CISR) with assorted research tasks such as sampling design, instrument design, data quality control and analysis on a variety of quantitative and qualitative research studies across the globe, ranging from large nationally representative polls to small focus group discussions. General and/or explicit guidance will be provided for each task, and the Senior Research Associate is expected to perform assigned tasks error-free and in a timely and efficient manner.

The major responsibility of this position is to review SPSS datasets of survey data for quality control purposes. Such checks will include, but are not limited to, a review of the weighting scheme and census data, various internal cohesion checks to identify potential contradictions and/or deviations from fieldwork protocols, problematic patterns linked to specific interview languages/interviewers/regions etc., data structure review for potential indications that a question was not administered correctly such as a base being smaller or larger than expected, comparison of the data against previous IRI polls and/or third-party data, comparing actual sampling points to the sampling plan, a review of all aggregates and a selection of disaggregates flagging any unexpected findings, etc.
Another major responsibility is to compare the raw data against figures cited in presentations and/or reports and/or dashboards and/or to produce custom crosstabulations or data comparison exported to Excel.
Another major responsibility is to produce data graphs and charts for PowerPoint presentations that adhere to CISR’s PowerPoint style guide. This may involve customization of Microsoft’s standard graph types.
Another major responsibility is to ensure that all CISR research related files are saved in the correct location on SharePoint in line with CISR naming conventions.
Less frequently assigned responsibilities include:
Maintenance of spreadsheet tracking CISR core question data across countries and over time.
Preparation of codebooks.
Review and coding of qualitative transcripts.
Produce research memos on various topics.
General CISR logistical support.
Performs other duties as assigned.